About

Borrowing

All Iowa State University faculty, staff, students and others who have an ISUCard are entitled to borrow materials from the Veterinary Medical Library. Books circulate for an extended loan period (to the end of the school year in May) for ISU veterinary students and for all graduate students and faculty, with the following exceptions:

Reference materials: 1 day

Journals: 1 week

Reserve books: 2 hours during open library hours, and also overnight.

Books are subject to recall after two weeks when needed by another patron.

Books (and many journals) located at Parks Library and the Library Storage Building can be delivered free of charge directly to the Veterinary Medical Library via the Vet Med Express service.

Use the Interlibrary Loan form to request books, journal articles, and other items that are not owned by ISU Library. The ISU Library system includes Parks Library, the Veterinary Medical Library, the two Reading Rooms, and the Library Storage Building. There is usually no charge for interlibrary loan requests.

There is a photocopier in the library. The copier accepts coins, $1 and $5 bills, and the CyCash feature on the ISUCard. There is also a self-serve scanner.

Collections

The Veterinary Medical Library maintains a collection of approximately 34,000 volumes and 700 periodical titles in print. Its holdings are primarily in veterinary science and the related subjects of comparative and human medicine, animal science, and zoology. The collection is divided into two major parts, separated by the Service Desk: journals on one side of the room and books on the other. Both books and journals are arranged by Library of Congress call number.

There are also several smaller collections. A Reference section includes dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and directories. There is a small collection of CDs and DVDs near the Service Desk. A Reserve collection for class assignments is maintained for the academic departments of the College. Reserve materials are kept behind the Service Desk. Current issues of some of the most popular and frequently used journals and magazines are shelved in the Selected Display Journals area. Theses completed by graduate students in the College are located at the far end of the journals side of the room.

Many journals, books, and indexes are now accessible from the library's website in electronic format. Journal articles, book chapters, and index citations can be viewed from the computer screen, printed, or downloaded. Printing instructions are placed near each computer.

We welcome suggestions for books and other materials to add to the library's collection. Faculty, staff, and students can submit their requests to the Service Desk, using the standard ISU Library Purchase Request form, or e-mail their recommendations directly to Jeff Alger, Veterinary Medical Librarian, jalger@iastate.edu.